The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1887-11-12
Correspondence BaEtin'ors County Union.
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
AN AERIAL PHENOMENON.

AN AERIAL PHENOMENON.
Some singular objects which appeared IN
Berkshire, Eng, in January, 1871, were described
BY Rev. A. Bonney at late meeting of the Royal
Meteorological Society. little before noon, q
group of air-bubbles, resembling ordinary toy
balloons in size and shape were seen to rise from
level space of snow to considerable height, and
then to move up and down within limited area
and at equal distances from each other. After
about two minutes they were caught by an air
current and borne eastward out of sight. An
other group rose from the same spot, and exhibit
ted precisely the same movements.
PLAT1NIzED GLASS.
A forgotten chemical product, brought out by
Dode more than twenty years ago, Is now preser-
we'd in Paris museum. 1t is transparent re-
fector in which the image of an object may be
viewed as in mirror, or through which the Cd
iect itself may be seen, as through common glass.
1t is simply piece of glass covered with tnin
LAYER of platinum. 1t was prepared by combln-
inc a mixture of platinic chloride and essence OF
lavender with flux consisting of essence OF Law
ender and borate and oxide of lead, spreading the
whole on the glass with fine brush, and then
baking in muffle at low read heat. This old
discovery ought to serve some useful purpose.
1cE-R1vERs OF ALASKA.
The Agassiz Glacier, in Alaska, covers an esti-
mated area of about 600 square miles, while the
Great Guyot Glacier, west of it, is of quite un-
known extent. Between the st. Elias Alps and the
Sea, from Cross Sound to the Copper River, the
country consists almost entirely OF glaciers, al
whose bases the ice lies buried under millions OF
tons and hundreds of square miles of loose rocks
which IL has carried down from the mountains.
The extent of these terminal moraines misled
early nayigators, who saw barren country COM
posed of loose stones, while the protruding ice
was supposed to be snow lying on the ground.
CAUSES OF HAY-FEvER.
a result of local irritations of unduly sensitive
areas in the nose and in the respiratory passages
below The pollen of some plant is usually sup
posed to be the irriant but this is not always the
case. The late DR.. Flint was troubled only when
living on feathers, and in other persons the attacks
are brought on by emanations from animals-such
as the horse, the rabbit, the cat, etc. The electric
cautery and various other remedies have been ap-
piled with more or less success but as yet there
seems to be no specific to be recommended, and
the best treatment-when available-is removal
to q polen-free atmosphere, or to one from which
at least grass-pollen is absent.
sATURNs MooN-cIRcLEs.
Further marvels of Saturn's rings have been
noted by NJ. Stuyvert, of the Royal Observatory
of Brussels and other astronomers. Dusky notches
in the edges of the rings, with evidences OF vara-
bility, are indications which support the view that
the singular hoop like appendages of our sister
planet are made up of small satellites so closely
erouped that the spaces separating them from each
other are not visible at the earth's distance.
PLANT MEDICINE.
DR.. A. B. Grifiths has demonstrated that iron
sulphate, or copperas, acts upon the cellulose of
wh Dlants.
but does not affect that of the higher plants them
selves. 1t is therefore remedy for the most
yirulent epidemics which attack field and garden
crops, and destroys such parasitic germs and
fungi as the potato disease, wheat mildew, ETC.
In one English district this years crop OF winter
beans has failed on account of growth of fungus
on the roots of the plants-a disease which a
timely application of iron sulphate would have
cured.
MISCELLANEOUS.
For his composite iron and steel consisting of
strands of wrought iron surrounded by mild steel,
or some similar combination, Mr.. George Allan,
of Birming CHAM, claims greater strength and re-
liability than are possessed by the perfectly
homogeneous material. 1t is specially adapted
for axes chains boiler plates, burglar proof safes,
rivets, etc. 1t may be made to combine great
hardness with toughness if necessary.
At two of the leading hospitals of Paris the
death-rate from amputations of all kinds has de-
creased from so per cent. in 1880 to about Is per
cent now.
Max Won Pettenkofer, German medical au
thorty, considers that cholera is not contagious,
in the sense of being communicable directly from
person to person, but that it belongs to the NAL
arial group of epidemics, the germs of which find
their way from the soil into the air, and thence
through the lungs into the system. He regards
good drainage and pure water as the most eff
Gent safeguards against an outbreak.
The Royal Geographical Society of London has
decided to admit ladies as fellows.
Norwegian fisherman, accordingto M. Armauer
Hansen, poison their primitive harpoons from
gangrened wounds produced in small whale
It is curious fact that this peculiar use of bac-
terra and blood .nnisonino sh"nld have hesn known
Tor hundreds OF years.
species of water plant which grows on the
backs of living turtles has been described by Mr.
M. C. Potter, of the Linnean Society of London.
It enters the cracks of the she'll, but is nourshed
from the water, and not from the animal juices
The first case of trichinosis in Belgium has just
been reported. The disease is attributed to Amer
lean bacon eaten seven years before the fatal
symptoms were developed.
French anthropologist, M. A. Bertillon, emu
merates 81 characteristic forms of the human nose
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